Andover’s Ball powers way to 5A crown in final attempt
From the first tennis ball hit this season, Andover senior Grace Ball had a singular goal in mind – the Class 5A singles title.
After second-place finishes as a sophomore and junior, Ball’s quest ended successfully Saturday with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over St. James Academy junior Catherine Rieke.
“This is something I’ve been working for since freshman year,” she said. “It’s always been my goal, and it’s a really good feeling to have achieved it.”
In opening matches Friday, Ball dropped one game to reach the semifinals. Her determination continued Saturday, dropping four games in two semifinal sets and three in the two-set final, finishing with a 29-2 mark, the only losses to Independent’s Anna Riedmiller, who won 3-2-1A on Saturday.
Ball faced DeSoto freshman Issa Sullivan in the semifinal. Sullivan entered state with a 13-1 record, the only loss coming to Rieke in the Pittsburg regional final.
Ball was all business in cruising past Sullivan and the final against Rieke.
“(Sullivan) served underhand (because of an ailing back), so that was something that I had to get used to and kind of adapt to,” Ball said. “But I think that was a good overall match. She was able to rally really well and kind of prepare me.”
In the final, Ball used solid hitting to steam past Rieke. Finally, the goal was in sight, and Ball didn’t take her foot off the pedal until the winning point.
With the title in hand, Ball now turns her attention toward next year at UMKC, where Jessica Dibble, her sister and Andover coach, also attended.
Andover’s three-year run as 5A champion came to an end, as Ball was the only Trojan to qualify for state and her 15 points for the title placed Andover sixth. Dibble said it lent a different feel to the state tournament.
“It was definitely a different state experience without the rest of my girls here,” Dibble said. “Hopefully, it just lights a fire under them to train really hard during the offseason, so next year I can bring back a full-six team. And the ‘one and only’ being my sister is so special. It was a different experience without the rest of my team, but then I was able to just sit and watch every point in all of Grace’s matches, experience it as a coach, but also as a sister.”
Kapaun Mount Carmel’s Eleanor Baldwin and Kelly House fell in the doubles final to Ark City’s Kelsie Burr and Chassidy Weathers 3-6, 6-3. 6-4. Baldwin and House had defeated the Ark City duo in last week’s regional.
“To me, it’s the home crowd,” Kapaun coach Kathy Schulte said. “They’re awesome and (Burr-Weathers) made less mistakes, were more aggressive and they kept their play more continuous.”
The doubles title helped Arkansas City capture the team title with 32 points, followed by St. James Academy (28) and Bishop Carroll (23).
Class 5A
At Arkansas City
Team scores — Arkansas City 32, St. James 28, Carroll 23, Salina Central 20, Maize 19, Andover 15, Kapaun 14, Salina South 14, DeSoto 13, Valley Center 11, Goddard 10, Shawnee Heights 10, Lansing 9, St. Thomas Aquinas 9, Emporia 8, Pittsburg 7, Eisenhower 3, BV Southwest 0, Leavenworth 0, Mill Valley 0, Topeka Seaman 0, Topeka West 0.
Singles — 1. Ball, Andover, def. Rieke, St. James, 6-1, 6-2; 3. Sullivan, DeSoto, def. Bri. Steven, Carroll, 6-1, 6-2; 5. Bray. Steven, Carroll, def. LeFevre, Goddard, 9-8 (4); 7. Blackim, Salina Central, def. Lysaught, Shawnee Heights, 9-5; 9. McBride, Ark City, def. McAdoo, Salina South, 9-4; 11. Smart, St. Thomas Aquinas, def. Wilcox, Salina South, 9-6.
Doubles — 1. Burr-Weathers, Ark City, def. Baldwin-House, Kapaun, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. 3. Dwyer-Bierbaum, St. James, def. Witek-Utech, Maize, 6-3, 6-3; 5. Binau-Sharp, Valley Center, def. Benton-Walker, Ark City, 9-4. 7. Norris-Slack, Salina Central, def. Benjamin-Krenholz, Emporia, 9-7. 9. Long-Petros, Lansing, def. Vogel-Felter, Pittsburg, 9-1. 11. Arnold-Vo, Maize, def. Root-Black, St. Thomas Aquinas, 9-7.
Class 6A — Derby’s Ashley Sherrow finished 10th in singles, the best finish by a Wichita-area player in the 6A field. Campus’ doubles team of Ariel Williams and Venus Thanasouk also earned a state medal, taking 11th.
Class 6A
At Topeka
Team scores — BV North 49, SM East 43, BV Northwest 29, Olathe South 21, Olathe East 13, BV West 12, SM Northwest 12, Blue Valley 11, Free State 11, Washburn Rural 9, Derby 7, SM South 6, Campus 6, Hutchinson 5, Olathe North 2, Garden City 1, Dodge City 0, Junction City 0, Manhattan 0, Wichita East 0, Wichita Northwest 0.
Singles — 1. Kuckelman, BV North, def. Wilcox, SM East, 6-2, 6-2; 3. Lynn, Olathe South, def. Staats, BV West, 6-0, 6-4; 5. Lee, Blue Valley, def. Tran, BV North, 9-1; 7. Magee, Olathe East. def. Munns, Washburn Rural, 9-2; 9. Sherrow, Derby, def. Trupp, BV Northwest, 9-6; 11. Bush, SM East, def. Foster, Hutchinson, 9-4.
Doubles — 1. White-Prinyarux, BV Northwest, def. Chang-Yan, BV North, 6-4, 7-5; 3. Freirich-McLiney, SM East, def. Horton-Oliver, SM Northwest, 6-1, 6-2; 5. Cooper-Kendall, SM East, def. Brown-Paisner, BV North, 9-7; 7. Dodd-Chen, Free State, def. Menke-Alfaro, Olathe South, 9-7; 9. Bail-Thurlby, BV Northwest, def. Prauser-Hance, SM South, 9-5; 11. Williams-Thanasouk, Campus, def. Chimakadze-Byers, Olathe East, 9-4.
This story was originally published October 15, 2016 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Andover’s Ball powers way to 5A crown in final attempt."